Mayor vetoes C-3 parking legislation, but offers amendment

From the Chronicle today,

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made good Friday on his threat to veto legislation meant to tackle traffic congestion by limiting new off-street parking in the downtown corridor but then turned right around and offered a slightly amended version of the ordinance.

In fact, Newsom said in his veto letter to the Board of Supervisors that he fully supports the intent of the legislation that restricts downtown parking with the goal of reducing reliance on the automobile. It was some of the details with which he took issue.

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who carried the legislation that was approved by the board on a 7-4 vote last month, said Friday that he will introduce a new measure that incorporates Newsom's proposed changes.

Unlike the other items that Newsom has vetoed in recent months, this was less a veto and more an amendment that couldn't be worked out prior to the Supervisor's vote. The changes he is suggesting are small and serve only to clarify a couple of items.

Under the board-approved plan, developers of residential projects would have been allowed to build no more than three off-street parking spaces for every four dwelling units. The only exception would have been for so-called family housing -- at least 1,000 square feet in size with at least two bedrooms -- in which case there could be one parking space for each home.

Newsom signed off on that and wants no change.

Where the mayor disagreed with the board was on parking lots. Under the board's plan, the parking structures could have been no higher than one story above ground. The mayor wants developers to be able to go as high as three stories above ground if they are unable to build underground parking; for example, if doing so would unearth contaminated soil or run into a tunnel for BART or Muni trains. Both versions call for developers to front the parking structures at street level with commercial uses, such as stores and restaurants.

The mayor and the board also disagreed on the creation of new driveways in the downtown corridor. Under the board's proposed ordinance, new driveways on streets used by public transit, among them Bush, California, Montgomery, Stockton, Powell and Market streets would have been prohibited. Newsom wants to allow for the new driveways on all the streets but Market. But approval would not be automatic; developers would have to get special permission from the Planning Commission and, in some cases, the Board of Supervisors.

I'm sure we'll hear some complaining from Daly on this, even though they are ultimately getting what they asked for. There's no way Daly can argue, however, with the 1 space for every unit over 1000sqft/2BR, lest he look even more anti-family than he already does.

The 'real' story behind the C-3 parking legislation? [SFSOS]